Sophie Jordan is not only a prolific writer; her creativity spans genres. In this new romantasy series, “A Fire in the Sky,” she returns to a fantasy world filled with dragons, witches, and other magical creatures. The world that she creates will enchant new readers and bring back fond memories for those who have read the Firelight series that inspired her to create this prologue which is, due to some steamy scenes, very adult in nature. In this new series, dragons have disappeared from the skies of this alternate world, killed by mankind. And after the dragons were all slain, or so people thought, the people killed the witches. But as we find out in this story, and to our delight, not all dragons nor all witches were murdered.
Tamsyn is a princess of Penterra. At least nominally, she is. What we find out immediately is that Tamsyn is the whipping girl to the princesses of Penterra. She has been raised since infancy as the princesses’ sister, dressed as a princess, taught as a princess, and treated in most ways as an actual princess. But when any of the three princesses misbehave, it’s Tamsyn who gets punished. And for the past several years, that punishment has been a whipping administered by a definitely lecherous guy who really gets off on whipping Tamsyn. So she’s royalty, but not in important ways. No one knows who her parents are because she was left as an infant in the castle courtyard.
Tamsyn’s best friend is Stig, whose father is the king’s advisor. He is captain of the guard, and he’s the one who pointed out that while she might not truly be a princess, she would have a good life after her whipping days ended, once the real princesses were married off. We quickly realize that he’s in love with Tamsyn, but while she loves him, it’s as a best friend, not a romantic partner.
Her life changes when the lord from the north, Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands where the dragons roamed and where the kingdom’s borders are constantly under attack, comes to the palace with a demand that he marry one of the king’s daughters. Instead, Tamsyn is substituted for a real royal bride and he’s not allowed to realize it until the marriage has been consummated, in front of an audience as is customary in royal marriages. Fell is stuck with Tamsyn as his bride, but he’s not happy about it.
Sophie Jordan writes lots of romance novels, so it’s no surprise that romantic tension sparks between Tamsyn and Fell almost from the start. But we sense there’s something a bit different in the almost electric current that runs between the two. We know they are meant to be together, in an almost magical manner. When they are enroute to Fell’s home, Tamsyn is attacked by one of Fell’s friends, who is furious about the growing bond between Fell and someone he considers unworthy of his friend and lord. That’s when Tamsyn’s true colors emerge, and she finds out what she is really capable of.
There are hints to the surprise, which isn’t that much of a surprise because of Jordan’s careful narrative. Both Tamsyn and Fell were found as orphans and taken in and raised to their respective positions. Fell’s father had no wife, but he found Fell in a dragon’s lair as an infant. He assumed that the dragon had killed and eaten Fell’s parents. Lacking an heir, he raised Fell as his son. Tamsyn was found in the courtyard of the castle while the queen was pregnant with her first child. She decided to keep the infant to be her child’s whipping girl.
The sexual tension is intense, and the mysterious nature of Tamsyn’s ability to heal and the fact that wolves loathe her is beautifully written. The fact that Jordan tells the stories from multiple points of view works extremely well as we are able to understand the motivations and emotions of the main characters. The story flows so smoothly, you will be surprised when it’s over, because it feels much too soon. And, of course, because this is just the start of a series, it does, indeed, end much too soon. Suffice to say that I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
And speaking of Sophie Jordan’s series, when is the book in the “Scandalous Ladies of London” series due out? “The Scandalous Ladies of London: The Duchess” and “The Countess: The Scandalous Ladies of London” were both Regency romances of a different nature, with mature main characters instead of flighty debutantes. Jordan has something for readers of every age! This series is also well worth reading.
This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.